Waseda University(早稲田大学,Waseda Daigaku?), abbreviated as Sōdai(早大?), is a private university mainly located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. As the second private university to be founded in Japan, Waseda University is considered to be one of Japan's most prestigious universities, consistently ranking amongst the top universities in Japanese university rankings. The university has many notable alumni in Japan, with seven Prime Ministers of Japan and many CEOs, including Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of UNIQLO.

The university was founded by samurai scholar and Meiji-era politician and former prime minister Ōkuma Shigenobu in 1882, and was designated as a full university in 1902. It started as a college with three departments under the old Japanese system of higher education.

In 1882, the university had the department of political science and economics, law, and physical science. Along with these departments, an English language course was established, where the students of all the departments could learn English.[4]

Three years later, the department of physical science was closed because it had too few applicants.[5] The department of science and engineering was established in 1908.[6]

The department of education was established in 1903, and the department of commerce, in 1904.[8]

Much of the campus was destroyed in the fire bombings of Tokyo during World War II, but the university was rebuilt and reopened by 1949. It has grown to become a comprehensive university with two senior high schools and school of art and architecture.

Waseda University started its life as Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō(東京専門学校?) on October 21, 1882. Before the name 'Waseda' was selected, it was known variously as Waseda Gakkō(早稲田学校?) or Totsuka Gakkō(戸塚学校?) after the location of the founder's villa in Waseda Village and the school's location in Totsuka Village respectively.

It was renamed Waseda University (早稲田大学,Waseda-daigaku?) on September 2, 1902 upon acquiring university status.

Ōkuma had long desired to create an academic cap so distinctive that someone wearing the cap would immediately be identified as a Waseda student.[citation needed] The chief tailor of Takashimaya, Yashichiro, was called upon to design a cap in three days. Each square cap was stamped on the inside with the student's name, his department, the school seal and the legend, "This certifies that the owner is a student of Waseda". Thus, the cap served as a form of identification, and effectively a status symbol. The cap, with its gold-braided badge, is registered as a trademark.

On October 21, 2007, Waseda University celebrated its 125th anniversary. Ōkuma often talked about the "125 years of life" theory: "The lifespan of a human being can be as long as 125 years. He will be able to live out his natural lifespan as long as he takes proper care of his health", because "physiologists say that every animal has the ability to live five times as long as its growth period. Since a man is said to require about 25 years to become fully mature, it follows that he can live up to 125 years of age." This theory propounded by Ōkuma was very popular and often referred to in the media of the time.

In commemorative events relating to Waseda University and Ōkuma, the number 125 is accorded special significance, as it marks an important epoch. The tower of Ōkuma Auditorium, completed on the university's 45th anniversary, is 125 shaku, or about 38 m high. In 1963, there were also events to mark the 125th anniversary of Ōkuma Shigenobu's birth.

Ōkuma, who twice served as prime minister of Japan, organized his second cabinet when he was 77 and died when he was 83. He said, "I wish I had understood this '125 years of life' theory 30 years earlier". He did, however, lead a regular life, and lived fairly long compared to other Japanese at the time.

Soon after Ōkuma's death on January 10, 1922, the planning of memorials commenced. The first decision was to construct a large auditorium, something Ōkuma had always dreamed of.[citation needed]

The three-story main auditorium seats 1,435, while the secondary auditorium, located underground, can accommodate 382 people. A seven-story high clock tower stands to the left of the auditorium. The height of the tower, at 125 shaku, or about 38 m, represents the theory of "life of 125 years" advocated by Ōkuma. The bells at the top of the tower were transported through the Panama Canal from the MacLean Company in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first time that four bells, large and small, had been used in Japan.

Oval-shaped transom windows on the roof represent the sun, moon, and nine planets of our solar system, and symbolize the "harmony of the universe" both inside and outside the auditorium.[citation needed] The auditorium opened on October 20, 1927, about five years behind schedule, after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. A Memorial Hall, constructed in 1957, was used as the fencing venue for the 1964 Summer Olympics.[9]

In April 1999, the auditorium along with the old library building were officially designated the first and second historical buildings under the newly passed Tokyo Metropolitan Landscape Regulations, which aim to preserve buildings representative of Tokyo's history and culture.

Ōkuma Garden is located near Ōkuma Auditorium. It is a half-Japanese, half-Western garden of Edo period feudal lord Matsudaira Sanuki's former mansion, redesigned by Shigenobu Ōkuma. After his death, the garden was donated to Waseda University. Now it is a recreation place for students.

The Waseda University Library, designed by Tachu Naitō, Kenji Imai and Kin'ichi Kiriyama, was completed in 1925. This five-story building, with a total area of 1,195 tsubo(坪?) (about 3,944 square meters), was used initially as the University Library. The reading room was housed in a separate two-story building, with a seating capacity of 500. One of the prominent libraries established at the end of the Taishō period, it has been a symbol of Waseda University to this day, along with the Okuma Auditorium and the Theatre Museum.

The Old Library and the administration building were expanded in 1934 and 1955 respectively. The Old Library stopped serving as a main library, after the New Central Library, located where the Abe Stadium used to be, was completed in 1990. It now houses Takata Sanae Memorial Research Library, the University Archives, and Aizu Yaichi Museum. Takata Sanae Memorial Research Library opened in 1994. It is named after former university president Takata Sanae. Historical and cultural materials on Waseda University are exhibited in the University Archives, and the materials related with Ōkuma Shigenobu are exhibited in the Ōkuma Memorial Room at the Archives. Aizu Yaichi Memorial Museum opened in 1998.

In the front hall, visitors are greeted by the masterpiece "Meian", which dates back to 1927. It is painted on the world's largest hand-made washi (Japanese paper), which is 4.45 meters in diameter and weighs about 12 kilograms. It was manufactured by Iwano Heisaburō, the founder of the Echizen paper works in Imadachi-cho, Fukui prefecture. The masterpiece was painted free of charge by Yokoyama Taikan and Shimomura Kanzan, two artists who represented the modern Japanese style of painting. President Takata Sanae asked them to paint a picture for the Library.

The library possesses a unique collection which survived the Bombing of Tokyo in World War II unlike many of its counterparts. The collection is an important resource for the study of pre-war Japanese history and literature.

Waseda's baseball team is known for their long history of success in Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. As of the end of the 2012 season, Waseda had won 43 championships along with the highest winning percentage.

They are also known for their rivalry with Keiō University, highlighted by the Sōkeisen series. The series is held twice a year in the spring and autumn at Meiji-Jingu Stadium, considered as one of the most important matches of the year for students from both schools.

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011–2012, Waseda ranked 351–400 worldwide among universities.[citation needed]

In addition, as of September 2012, according to the QS World university rankings of the general standards in the engineering and technology field, Waseda University was ranked 116th in the world, 7th nationally, and 198th in the general ranking.[35] Waseda Business School and Waseda Graduate School of Economics obtained the highest rank – five PALMS – in a Universal Business Ranking in 2013.[36]

In 2014, The Center for World University Rankings ranked Waseda University 40th (world).[37] Waseda University was also ranked 20th in the world in the Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index: Global Executives 2013 top 100.[38]

Generally speaking, national universities in Japan have better research standards; however, Waseda is one of the few private universities which compete with top national universities. According to Weekly Diamond, Waseda has the 12th highest research standard in Japan in terms of research fundings per researchers in COE Program, and it is one of only two private universities within the top 15.[39]

On February 16, 2004, Nikkei Shimbun ran a survey about research standards in engineering studies based on Thomson Reuters, Grants in Aid for Scientific Research and questionnaires to heads of 93 leading Japanese Research Centers. Waseda ranked 5th overall, 7th in research planning, and 1st in business-academia collaboration.[40] Waseda was the only private university ranked in the top 5.

Asahi Shimbun summarized the amount of academic papers in Japanese major legal journals by university, and Waseda was ranked 3rd during 2005–2009.[26]

According to the Asia Top MBA Business Schools Ranking by Asiaweek, Waseda Business School is ranked 2nd in Japan.[41]Eduniversal also ranked Japanese business schools and Waseda is 2nd in Japan (93rd in the world).[42] In this ranking, Waseda is one of only 3 Japanese business schools categorized in "Universal Business schools with major international influence".

Waseda Law School is considered as one of the top Japanese law schools, as Waseda's successful candidates for bar examination was 5th in 2009 and 2010 in Japan.[43]

According to the Weekly Diamond on February 18, 2006, Waseda got the highest score from the directors of human resource departments in Greater Tokyo in its Useful University Rankings (役に立つ大学ランキング?).[44] Waseda was ranked 1st in Social Science and 2nd in Natural Science and Engineering among all Japanese universities.[45] According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the PRESIDENT's article on October 16, 2006, graduates from Waseda have the 11th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and the alumni average salary is the 7th best in Japan.[46][47]

École des Mines de Paris ranked Waseda University as 4th in the world in 2010 (8th in 2011) in terms of the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies.[48][25] The university is also ranked 2nd in Japan for the number of alumni holding the position of executive in the listed companies of Japan.[49]

The number of lawyers who graduated Waseda has been ranked 3rd in Japan since 1949.[50] Furthermore, Waseda alumni have been the 2nd largest group in the Japanese Parliament.[51][52]

Waseda is a popular university in Japan. The number of applicants per place was 20.5 (115515/5630) in the 2011 undergraduate admissions.[53] This number of applicants was 2nd largest in Japan.[54] its entrance difficulty is usually considered as top with Keio among 730 private universities.[55][56][57]

Super Free was a registered Waseda University school club organized by Shinichirō Wada, a student at Waseda University. The club organized parties in order to rape unsuspecting women. The appeal of these parties was the chance to associate with Waseda University students. After Wada's arrest, the club was disbanded.[64]